…Kennedy basically said he’s not dropping out because he expects to win. That his polling shows when people are “fully informed,” they choose Kennedy far above his opponents. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that “fully informed” isn’t on the table. “Fully informed,” like “perfect vacuum,” is a physical impossibility, an ideal dreamworld that doesn’t apply here. He’d do better polling people who are completely uninformed, because that’s basically who’ll find their way to the voting booths in March.

If Kennedy had Biss’s money or Biss had Kennedy’s name then either would have a good chance of beating Pritzker. Instead we got two guys fighting real hard to get second place. One of them needs to drop out.

I suspect that any politician would claim that any voter would support them if “fully informed”. This isn’t all that different than what Rauner has been claiming over the last few years and the reason he had to overhaul his press shop. Money is always a big part of this. But sometimes it’s the messenger and not the message. Kennedy in particular suffers from this. We often know what he’s trying to say, but frequently fumbles the delivery.

Fully informed voter includes knowing the candidate. Kennedy’s problems include the fact that he’s probably the least likable of the big three candidates in this race.

I’ve heard the same thing from countless friends. They meet JB, want to dislike the billionaire but find him surprisingly likable. They meet Kennedy, want to like him but usually have the opposite reaction. And they meet Daniel, are sometimes impressed but don’t find him particularly warm and fuzzy.

Bottom line: money is only one of the reasons Kennedy is losing this race.

This is why I vote yes on the poll the other day about publicly funded elections. How many candidates that are superior to J.B. and Rauner are we, the citizens of Illinois, deprived of because of lack of personal wealth. I’d say plenty and that’s just my guess..

Agree with RNUG. This past decade in Illinois especially has been a lesser-of-two-evils choice, which makes voting a depressing and seeming pointless activity. Maybe that is the strategy of both parties. Suppress turnout through voter ennui rather than tricky registration tactics.